Three youth curling clinics, including one in the southeast, are coming to southern Saskatchewan next week.

Competitive curlers and mixed doubles partners Kirk Muyres and Laura Walker will be hosting the clinics as part of the 11th annual Community Rocks event.

The schedule looks like this:

  • Tuesday Jan. 17 at the Assiniboia Curling Club from 4:00-6:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday Jan. 18 at the Gravelbourg Curling Club from 4:00-6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday Jan. 19 at the Stoughton Curling Club from 4:00-6:30 p.m.

"It's always fun...we try to go to different towns every year so you see different rinks. You get different kids exposed to it, so it's always nice travelling around Saskatchewan and getting into some of the rinks we used to play in when we grew up," said Muyres, who now lives in Humboldt.

He said the clinics are designed to create an enjoyable experience for the kids, regardless of whether they have curled before or not.

"The number one thing we think about when we go into these events is just for the kids to have fun," Muyres said "We want them to go to the rink, we want them to have fun, and when they go home they go 'Man, that was fun at the curling rink, I want to go back.'"

"Obviously we want to teach them a little bit about confidence, hard work, teamwork, and some of the things that have been instilled in us over the years by playing this great sport," he continued.

The clinics will include a meet and greet, autograph signings, pictures, discussions with the kids, and teaching the fundamental skills of curling. Muyres said the age range is flexible but it's generally about 8-17.

"These kids are maybe 10, 11, 12 years old now, but in 10 or 20 years they'll be hopefully leading our communities or maybe being the next Olympic athletes," said Muyres. "Building confidence has allowed us to get better in the sport we love, and we want to help kids feel that confidence as well to make them believe that they can do anything they set their mind to."

You can get in touch with any of the three curling clubs to sign up or get involved.